SOUTHERN SECTION DIV. I SWIMMING: DIVIDE IS NOTICEABLE IN DIVISION I AREA SWIMMERS FIND OUT TOP LEVEL NO POOL PARTY.Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer LONG BEACH - By the time Chaminade High of West Hills junior Blake Nilsson stepped to the starting block start·ing block n. 1. Sports a. An apparatus that braces a runner's feet at the start of a race, consisting of two angled supports adjustably mounted on a rigid frame that is usually anchored to the track. b. for the 100-yard breaststroke Friday night, he was swimming not just for himself but for all the programs from the Mission, Foothill and Pacific leagues. The three area leagues all were moved up by Southern Section officials to the ultra-competitive Div. I for this season. And Friday's section championships at Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool provided the first indication of just how tough the future could be. Nilsson served as a good example. A champion last year in Div. II, he finished a disappointing third in the new division. Nilsson's time of 58.21, while still impressive, was more than a full second behind that of Servite of Anaheim's Adam Hewko, who took first. ``It's just a lot faster,'' said Nilsson, who came in seeded No. 2 and hoping for a repeat championship. ``There's a lot more competition.'' Nevertheless, Nilsson's finish still tied for the best by any local swimmer. Added up, the three newly promoted leagues accounted for three third-place swims, four fourths, a fifth and three sixths. The team standings also told the story. Harvard-Westlake of Studio City's girls finished fifth with 127 points, and Loyola of Los Angeles' boys took seventh with 101. But no other area school finished in the top 15. The boys' title went to Mission Viejo Mission Vi·e·jo A community of southern California southeast of Irvine. It is mainly residential. Population: 96,300. (247), the girls' to Irvine (295). The top individual performance was turned in by Harvard-Westlake sophomore Alexa Merz, who was seeded No. 1 in the 50 free and came in third behind Irvine's Courtney Cashion and Santa Margarita's Erika Figge. Merz's time of 23.71 was 0.25 slower than what she recorded at Wednesday's preliminaries. ``It's kind of a problem for me, coming back strong for finals,'' said Merz, who added an almost mirror third-place finish Noun 1. third-place finish - a finish in third place (as in a race) finish - designated event that concludes a contest (especially a race); "excitement grew as the finish neared"; "my horse was several lengths behind at the finish"; "the winner is the team with the in the 100 free. ``I think I'll pick it up as I get more experience. ... I'm happy with how I swam.'' Only one race featured a pair of local swimmers - the 100 fly - where Alemany of Mission Hills junior Renee Viveros took fourth (57.76) and league rival Tatiana Blankenship, a Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks sophomore, finished one spot behind in fifth. For Loyola senior Andrew Plumb, the meet was the opportunity of a lifetime. Plumb, who does not swim with a year-round club program, ended up in a lane next to Mission Viejo senior Larsen Jensen Larsen Jensen (born September 1, 1985 in Bakersfield, California) is an American swimmer, who graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2007. In the 2003 World Championship, Larsen received a silver medal in the 800 metres freestyle, his first medal at the , the American record holder at 800 meters, in the 200 free. Trying to stay even with Jensen, Plumb took fourth in the race with a time of 1:42.04. He finished only a second behind Jensen, who was upset by Dos Pueblos of Goleta junior Danny Beal. Hart of Newhall junior Kent Klawer finished sixth in the 200 individual medley med·ley n. pl. med·leys 1. An often jumbled assortment; a mixture: "That night he dreamed he was traveling in a foreign country, only it seemed to be a medley of all the countries he'd ever been to and finals (1:55.29) and faster than he did last year at the Div. II finals. Chaminade senior Matthew Jensen closed out his career by taking third in the 100 fly and sixth in the 100 back. And Crescenta Valley The Crescenta Valley is a small inland valley in Los Angeles County, California. Its name derives from its crescent-like shape, with the convex portion facing roughly northeast and the concave portion southwest. of La Crescenta senior Lindsay Taylor Lindsay Corine Taylor (born May 20, 1981 in Poway, California) is a former American collegiate and a professional basketball player who has played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), Ligue Féminine de Basketball (LFB), the WKBL and most recently the Polish Womens won the 500 free consolation finals on her 18th birthday. --Div. II preliminaries: Despite not training for the meet, Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. freshman Vanda Gyuris will be seeded No. 1 in this afternoon's 100 free finals. She recorded a 52.90 at Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (commonly called Mt. SAC; pronounced as the word "sack") is a community college located in the Los Angeles suburb of Walnut, California, next to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona which is just over a hill. Mt. . --Div. III preliminaries: Rio Mesa of Oxnard junior Justin Burdine-Ortega posted the fastest qualifying time in the 50 free and will be the No. 1 seed for this morning's finals. He clocked in at 21.48 in the 50 and also qualified third in the 100 free (47.71), where he will be joined in the finals by teammate Tyler Owens. |
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